


Rue For You (And Here's Some For Me)

by violentdarlings



Series: piece by piece [2]
Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies)
Genre: Baby Groot (Marvel), Gen, Healing, Post-Movie: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-16
Updated: 2017-09-16
Packaged: 2018-12-30 11:43:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12107985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/violentdarlings/pseuds/violentdarlings
Summary: Groot and Nebula, on the night shift.





	Rue For You (And Here's Some For Me)

Nebula is not in the habit of sleeping late. If anything, she wakes earlier than she wants to, and sleeps lightly, usually with a knife under her pillow, clutched in her hand.

But Groot is a sneaky thing, for all he is tiny and appears utterly without threat. Nebula has seen his tiny face contort with rage, vines growing out from his hands to throttle an enemy; granted, that enemy was yet another Orloni that Groot has taken offense to, but still. He is a dangerous little creature.

He was frightened of her, when she first joined her sister’s ragtag group of lunatics. He cowered away from her, running from the room whenever she entered, squeaking, “I am Groot!” at the top of his little tree voice. It had not bothered Nebula, because she is not foolish enough to care about the opinion of a small tree child. It had not reminded her in the slightest of other children on the various worlds she has been to, running away in terror from the monster with the metal arm and blue, artificial looking skin.

Nor had it, when Groot started to become accustomed to her, caused something odd and warm to bloom in her chest. She refuses to admit to even herself that she cares if Groot or anyone else on the crew approves of her.

And yet.

The first time he climbs onto her shoulder, while she is piloting the Quadrant alone on night shift, Nebula had almost thrown him off in shock. Still, she manages to restrain the urge, and Groot stares up at her with his black-button eyes, his mouth turned down in a frown.

“I am Groot,” he says, and taps the metal around her eye. Nebula flinches away.

“What?” she asks him. Groot shakes his little head in frustration.

“I… am… _Groot_ ,” he says, as though talking to a simpleton, and taps the inlay of metal again. “I am Groot?”

“My eye?” she asks. “The metal? You want to know about that?”

Groot nods, his tiny face lighting up in a smile. “I am Groot!” he says happily. Damn, but it shouldn’t be cute.

“What do you want to know?” Nebula mutters, trying to hide the sudden spike of fondness at the little tree’s sheer adorableness. Groot frowns, taps himself on the arm, and makes a face, grabbing his arm and pretending to cry over it. “You want to know if it hurts?” Another nod, another smile. “Not anymore,” Nebula tells him. “It did when it happened.” The smile fades.

“I am Groot,” he says sadly, and wraps his tiny tree arms around as much of her as he can. Nebula freezes. It is the second embrace of her life.

“It’s okay,” she tries to tell him. “It was a long time ago.” Groot lifts his head at that.

“I am Groot!” he says brightly, and lets her go, jumping down to sit on the arm of her chair and immediately starting to do something with his hands. Nebula watches, bemused, as he blooms flowers from his forearms, plucking them off at once and weaving them into a small chain. “I am Groot,” he says, more to himself that her, and knots the chain together. “I am Groot!” He holds it up happily, and climbs up Nebula’s arm to settle on her shoulder once more.

“What’s that for?” Nebula asks him. Groot smiles, and places the flower crown on her head, dipping it low on one side to hover just above her augment.

“I am Groot,” he says, and Nebula hears what he’s trying to say as clear as day: _all better now._

She blinks. Her eyes are stinging. Probably allergies.

“For me?” she asks unnecessarily, and Groot nods. “Thank you, Groot.”

“I am Groot,” he agrees, and curls up on her chest, to sleep the night away.

 

And here again, in the privacy of her own room, a flower crown left neatly on her pillow while she sleeps.

Nebula sets the crown carefully aside so it will not be damaged, and goes back to sleep.


End file.
